The retail investment volume in Poland reached a record high of €2.5bn in 2018, according to Cresa. Retail was the second most sought-after sector after office, accounting for 34 percent of all investment activity in Poland last year. The strongest investor activity was recorded in the first quarter of 2018, driven primarily by two significant transactions: Chariot Top Group’s €1bn acquisition of the M1 portfolio from Ares, Axa and Apollo Rida and Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia’s takeover of Galeria Katowicka from Meyer Bergman for €300m. The two subsequent quarters saw significantly smaller investment volumes, but investment activity picked up in the fourth quarter of the year when Wars Sawa Junior changed hands in what was the largest retail asset transaction in Warsaw since the acquisition of Arkadia and Warszawa Wileńska in 2010 and Galeria Mokotów in 2011 by Unibail-Rodamco.
